( 38 .) 
D RA'BA * *. 
Linnean Class and Order. Tetradyna'mia f, Siliculo'sa. 
Natural Order. Cruci'ferte, Juss. Gen. PI. p.237. — Sm. Gr. 
of Bot. p. 138. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 498 . — Cruci'fervE ; Sub- 
order, PlEURORHI'zEyE. Tribe, ALYSSl'NEyE, or Peeurorhi'zEjE 
Latise'pt.eJ. Lind. Syn. pp. 20, 21, and 25. — Introd. to Nat. 
Syst. of Bot. pp. 14 to 18. — Loud. Hort. Brit. pp. 498 & 499 ; and 
Mag. of Nat. Hist. v. i. pp. 143 & 238. 
Gen. Char. Calyx (fig. 1.) equal at the base, somewhat spreading, 
deciduous; Sepals 4, egg-shaped, concave. Petals (fig. 2.) 4, either 
cloven, notched, or entire, spreading, with short claws. Filaments 
(fig. 3.) 6, simple, awl-shaped. Anthers of 2 roundish lobes. 
Germen (fig. 3.) egg-shaped. Style very short. Stigma knobbed 
(capitate), flat. Pouch ( siliculaj (fig. 4.) oblong-oval, laterally 
compressed, entire, tipped with the style or stigma, 2-celled, valves 
nearly flat, separating from the bottom; Partition (fig. 5.) membra- 
nous, of the same shape and breadth. Seeds many in each cell, 
small, roundish, not bordered. Cotyledons accumbent (fig. 6). 
The entire, oval, laterally compressed pouch, nearly flat valves, 
and numerous seeds, will distinguish this from other genera in the 
same class and order. 
A numerous herbaceous genus; its pubescence forked or starry. 
Leaves undivided. Flowers white or yellow, without bracteas. Smith. 
Five species British. 
DRA'BA VE'RNA. Common Whitlow-grass. Nailwort. 
Spec. Char. Stalks radical, naked. Petals deeply cloven. 
Leaves spear-shaped, somewhat toothed, hairy. 
Engl. Bot. t. 586. — Curt. FI. Lond. t. 49. — Linn. Sp PI. p. 896. — Huds. FI. 
Angl. (2nd ed.) p.273. — Sm. FI. Br. v. ii. p.677. Eng. FI. v. iii. p. 158. — 
With. (7th ed.) v. iii. p. 755. — Hook. Br. FI. p. 299. — Gray’s Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 
697. — Lightf. FI. Scot v. i. p. 337. — Sibth. FI. Oxon. p. 198. — Abbot’s FI. Bed. 
p. 141. — Purt. Midi. FI. v. i. p. 300. — Relh. FI. Cant. (3rd ed.) p. 260. — Hook. 
FI. Scot. p. 196. — Grev. FI. Edin. p. 141. — FI. Devon, pp. 110 5c 188. — Johnst. 
FI. of Berw. v. i. p. 141. — Walk. FI. of Oxf. p. 183. — Erdphila Vulgaris, Lind. 
Syn. p.26. — Bab. FI. Bath. p. 5. — Parony'chia Vulgaris, Ray’s Syn. p.292. — 
Johnson’s Gerarde, 624. 
Localities. — On walls, rocks, banks, and dry waste ground. Common. 
Annual. — Flowers in February, March, and April. 
Fig. 1. Calyx. — Fig. 2. A Petal. — Fig. 3. Stamens. — Fig. 4. A Pouch, with 
the 2 valves opening from the base, and showing the seeds and the partition. — 
Fig. 5. The 2 valves removed, showing the thin membranous partition or pla- 
centa, and the attachment of the seeds to its sides. — Fig. 6. A Seed, showing 
the 2 Cotyledons, with the radicle lying upon their edg«s, (pleurorhizece).— 
All, except figs. 4 and 5, more or less magnified. 
* From drabe, Gr. acrid, as are the leaves of many of this tribe. Hooker. 
t From tetra, Gr. four, and dunamis, Gr. -power. The 15th class of the 
Linnean Artificial System, comprehending all those perfect plants which have 
cruciform flowers with 4 long and 2 short stamens; the 2 shorter ones standing 
directly opposite to each other. — This class is a truly natural one, and corre- 
sponds entirely with the cruciferce of Jussieu. — Linn*us divides it into 2 or- 
ders : 1st. Siliculo'sa, in which the truit is a silicula, pouch or roundish pod, 
fig. 4. 2nd. Siliqvo'sa, in which the fruit is a siliqua, or long pod. 
} Fiom latus, broad, and septum, a partition. Loudon. 
